Pay2o raises ¥170 million seed for bank-account payments

The problem with cards and direct debit

According to the company, businesses such as fitness clubs and cram schools face rising costs from inflation and labor, yet raising prices risks cancellations. Meanwhile they keep paying credit card fees of roughly 3–4% of sales. Switching to traditional direct debit brings paper paperwork and a wait before withdrawals begin.

Security is another concern. Figures from the Japan Consumer Credit Association put credit card fraud losses in 2025 at about ¥51 billion, around 93% of it caused by stolen card numbers.

How Pay2o works

Pay2o never handles card numbers; payers settle from their bank account using only a smartphone. Fees start at 0.95% excluding tax, applicable when conditions such as the financial institution and transaction scale are met. Payers must log in with passkeys, which resist phishing, and bank authentication takes place on the bank's own page, so no bank password is shared with Pay2o.

For merchants, monthly payments are automated, as are re-billing and reminders after a failed payment, with automatic retries for up to 30 days. One-off charges such as enrollment or trial fees can be settled instantly from a bank account. Since the product launched in February, fitness clubs, lesson providers and schools across Japan have adopted it.